


day fourteen: other earths

by Hannah (hannahoftheinternet)



Series: HartmonFest 2019 [14]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Earth-2, Established Relationship, Flirting, Hartmon Fest 2019, Kissing, M/M, POV Hartley Rathaway, POV Third Person, Present Tense, Villains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-11-12 16:33:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18014417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannahoftheinternet/pseuds/Hannah
Summary: On Earth-2, Hartley doesn't have powers, but he has something even better: the love and trust of Zoom's lieutenant.





	day fourteen: other earths

The cold metal chills Hartley’s fingers even through the thick wool gloves he wears. It’s below freezing outside, and someone will get an earful from Francisco making him walk in the dark and cold alone. The wind whistles sharply around his ears as he wrestles with the handle of the door. Damn thing is probably frozen shut.

It creaks open eventually, leading him into a dimly-lit hallway. Their new haunt is an abandoned building on the edge of Central City University. Where it was once Schuyler Hall, it’s now simply known as  _ nueva casa _ . Hartley’s suggestion, which won him great approval from Francisco. Easy for the monolinguists to pronounce, but with hidden meaning for the ones who speak Spanish (i.e. Hartley and Francisco). 

They don’t have to be concerned about someone discovering  _ nueva casa _ , either. One of Zoom’s lower-ranking lackies can trick the eyes, make people not see things that are there and vice versa, so they’re not at risk of being noticed. 

Warm light streams from one of the open doorways. Hartley’s just approaching the threshold when a voice comes from inside the room. “Good evening, Hartley.”

“It’s impossible to surprise you,” Hartley says, stepping into the light, his eyes finding his lover lounging in a chair.

Francisco doesn’t stand to meet him. “Anyone who surprises me likely won’t live to tell anyone about it. Why would you want to?”

“You’ve outwitted me,” teases Hartley, knowing that will capture Francisco’s attention.

In a second, Francisco is in front of him, tilting Hartley’s head up so Hartley has to look directly into his eyes. They’re the same height, but ever the dramatic, Francisco wears heeled boots. He says it gives him an edge.

“My dear,” Francisco says, his tone mild but his expression fierce. “The day I can outwit you is the day the multiverse crumbles into oblivion.”

The corner of Hartley’s mouth quirks up. Exactly the reaction he wanted. Francisco is so lovingly convinced that Hartley is smarter than him, despite their complete intellectual equality. It’s one of his only weaknesses.

“You would know, wouldn’t you,  _ mi tesoro _ ?” Hartley rises up on tiptoe and presses a chaste kiss to the corner of Francisco’s mouth. He doesn’t miss the slight tightening of the grip on his chin, and smiles.

“You know why I called you here, don’t you?” Francisco releases him and draws back, all business now.

Hartley allows himself a wicked grin. “I have an idea.”

“Later,” Francisco promises, resuming his chair and gesturing for Hartley to take the other. He does, opening a folder of papers and reading the top one. It’s a personnel file for a metahuman, an aerokinetic, but not one of theirs. The next is the same: information for someone who isn’t on their side. This one is a manipulator of metals, the brand of metahuman nicknamed  _ magnetron _ .

He sets the file aside, leans in like he’s about to share a secret. “What are these, Francisco?”

“Guess.”

Hartley has a guess, and he’s pretty sure it’s the right one, but he wants to hear it from Francisco. “Humor me,  _ mi tesoro _ ,” he coaxes.

Francisco smiles at him. Humoring Hartley is one of his favorite things, and everyone knows it. “People to recruit,” he says. “People who might be unsatisfied with their current situation, looking for change.”

Hartley was right. “And you want to bring them in.”

Francisco’s face darkens as he says, “As much as it pains me to admit it, our numbers are dwindling. Zoom has no sense of the future. He sends our people out, and they die. We need more or--”

“There will be no one left,” Hartley finishes. His mind is already flying through the possibilities. He knows that his lover must have looked into the future hundreds of times to make this choice. “How does this involve me? Surely you don’t want me to act as your recruiter.”

“Of course not. Why waste your brilliance on something as simple as conscription? I’m sending our persuader to get us new allies.” The persuader is a fun weapon to have, a skinny kid who can control minds with the power of their voice. “I need you here, with me.” There’s another one of Francisco’s little fallacies. He  _ needs _ nothing and no one but Hartley. Zoom’s lieutenant is wrapped around Hartley’s little finger.

There’s a story about an ancient king who loved one of his slaves. When the king asked the slave who the most powerful person in the kingdom was, the slave responded,  _ You, of course. You rule the people. _ The king corrected him, saying,  _ I may rule the people, but you rule me. You are the most powerful _ .

“Again, what does this have to do with me?” Hartley leans further, invading in on Francisco’s space.

Francisco mirrors him. Hartley hides a smirk. “I thought you wanted me to keep you apprised of every decision I made.”

“Naturally,  _ mi tesoro _ . How can I plan without knowing everything that’s going on?”

“Naturally.” Hartley closes the gap between them. Francisco kisses like he thinks he could rule the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Villains are so much fun to write! I'm almost inspired to do more of these two. What is it about villains that always make me want to write them sexy? Is it just Reverb's general vibe (haha) , or is there something else? Catch my subtle fandom references? There are two.
> 
> Comments are a writer's best friend!


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